He was the OC there for quite a number of years and was Bellotti's hand-picked successor. That, and he didn't have to introduce a whole new scheme, lose most of the returning starters and suffer mass attrition. But hey, let's not let facts get in the way.

kelly didn't take over a program that had been pantsed by Oregon the year before. he took over the program that pantsed us. or has everyone else managed to erase the images of Dennis Dixon pissing all over our D in 2007 (the week AFTER the debacle) and i'm the only one that remembers???

THAT's the team Kelly inherited- a team that already successfully ran the same schemes he ran himself.

also, watching Masolli play for Ole Miss so far this year, seems to me that Darron Thomas is as prepared as the senior before him and a step up in talent. which isn't surprising since he's been in their system since 2008.

Average time: 3.2 years. It doesn’t take forever, people. Every Michigan fan knew—or I sure did and I’m not all that smart--after three years that Charlie Weis was not a good head coach for Notre Dame. Well before the Notre Dame fans did.

None of the above coaches--prior to achieving their success—bottomed their program out with it’s worse season ever. Ever! Since 1879.

So, history and facts—sadly—are not on our side here.

As much as I would love to see Michigan obliterate conference opponents a la Oregon—and I sincerely hope that happens this season—there is almost nothing in the last three years that points to that happening any time soon and—sadly--much that points to it never happening under Rich Rodriguez.

Right now, Michigan looks like a very entertaining Conference USA team. Watching Wisconsin manhandle Ohio State really brought that home to me last week. That was what Michigan football should be, dominating and physical. And able to beat another team that can objectively be considered good.

And, yes, it hurts. And it hurts even more because I have a lot of affection for a lot of the kids on the this team--because they work hard in unpleasant circumstances--and I hate speaking negatively about them. But facts are facts and other than Denard Robinson’s spectacular showing against some cupcakes, the facts haven’t been encouraging.

Life has changed a lot for me since those days; got reassigned, had a child--we watched the Capital One Bowl together when he was six days old--retired from the military, and got a job as a civilian (finally time to grow up).

Obviously, I've been thinking about the current state of the program. If I can come up with some worthy topics, I'll e-mail them to you; perhaps these turbulent times can coax some writing out of me.

But I am criticizing him for several reasons. First and foremost, for the results on the field. Amazing that one of the complaints about Lloyd by those who used to want him gone was the ol' "anybody could go 8-4 with the talent he had." Then, shockingly, as soon as LC's gone and we not only start losing but lose in embarrassing ways, suddenly it's "LC left the cupboard bare."

Second, the seemingly constant stream of excuses instead of a "buck stops here" accountability that I want from my head coach.

And finally, minor or not, the off-the-field issues such as the NCAA violations.

Put them all together, and I think folks have valid reasons to be very critical.

Again, not calling for his firing now. But I might be in 5 weeks when the question does answer itself.

Over 41 seasons, from 1969 to 2009, I compiled some statistics of the Top 10 All-Time Winningest College Football programs and four other strong programs who have won National Championships in the last 10 years.

Another area where RichRod does himself no favors is sideline behavior.

Now, I only "sees what the TV shows," and ESPN would never, ever frame their production to adavnce a storyline, (sure, right) but there is a difference between a firey, motivational coach and a surly, f-bomb screaming jerk melting down on the sidelines.

For all the potential record and program development this year, RichRod just doesn't instill alot of confidence by his demeanor. Sure, winning can cure some of that, but his act just adds to the fans and more importantly Admin's fustration.

Yost,here's my point on this whole debate- i think it's pointless. all of the complaints about R2- his demeanor, how he speaks to the press, his inability to quote dead Irish poets, rawk music in the stadium, the piping on the away jerseys, and all of the "quasi-cultural" problems (to borrow from Whit(e) Goodman), are all "soft", and the sort of things nobody would talk about if this team had more wins.

take a look at every complaint made about R2, his behavior, how he carries himself, and how he coaches. now speculate w/ me what would happen if this team were to turn things around and win out- if we were to finish 10-2, w/ wins over ND, PSU, Wisconsin, & tosu, do you really think anybody would be questioning the way he conducts interviews? i don't think so.

none of these "culture" issues mean anything by themselves. if he doesn't win, they're window dressing to the complaining. and if he does win, most everyone will stop talking about them.

which to me means they're really not important. nobody's going to fire a coach w/ a winning record because of the way he talks on TV (except maybe tosu dumping Earl Bruce). and nobody is going to keep a coach w/ a losing record, no matter who he can quote in his press conferences.

so, it's not that i think all of these criticisms are necessarily wrong. i think they're misplaced.

and i think Michigan fans debating how bad the coach is, while we're still 5-2, doesn't really help matters. then again, it's what ND fans do about this point in the season for the last 18 years, so i guess we're in distinguished company?

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